The spine is made up of twenty four vertebrae that are separated by discs and held together by muscles and ligaments. The discs are soft elastic structures primarily made of cartilage. Discs act as shock absorbing cushions between the vertebrae. The spinal cord runs through a hole in each vertebra of the spine and these holes are collectively referred to as the spinal canal. Some of the nerves of the spinal cord extend outwardly therefrom, passing between the vertebrae and traveling to the arms, shoulders, torso and legs. Most back pain is due to pressure on a disc and/or irritation of the ligaments and muscles around the disc. Pressure on a disc can result in pressure on a nerve or nerves of the spine which can also cause back pain.
Individuals with poor posture and/or weak back muscles and ligaments frequently place excessive pressure on the discs and nerves and related soft tissues of the back. This pressure or compressive force on the discs, nerves and other soft tissues of the spine can result in back pain and damage to the discs, but can be alleviated or prevented entirely by proper stretching of the spine and by increasing the strength and flexibility of the muscles and ligaments that hold the vertebrae in place.
Because the spine is flexible and capable of bending forwardly, rearwardly and from side to side, a complete exercise program for the spine and back should incorporate all four of these movements. More specifically, the spine should be stretched in these four directions to increase flexibility and to strengthen and condition the ligaments and other connective tissues which hold the vertebrae together and the spine should be strength by moving the spine in these four directions against a resistance or opposing force. Bending the spine rearwardly a proper degree is especially valuable for relieving pressure on the discs. The ideal exercise equipment for stretching and strengthening the spine should facilitate these movements. A back conditioning and strengthening exercise device should also help the user strengthen and related muscle groups such as the neck muscles, abdominal muscles, arms muscles and legs muscles.
Exercise equipment heretofore has not provided a complete exercise program for the spine. Examples of exercise equipment can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,573,485; 5,634,887; 5,324,247; and 5,795,276, but none of the devices disclosed in these patent references provides stretching and strengthening of the back and spinal muscles in all four spinal directions or complete strengthening and conditioning of related muscle groups.
A need exists for an exercise device that can provide a user with a complete exercise routine for stretching and strengthening the spinal muscles and related muscle groups and disc decompression.